Friday, November 17, 2006

Today was Nigel's last day of school and it was a day filled with lots of goodies. What a day! With a 24-hour deadline hanging over my head, I still manage to pack a kid a sand-castle kit each and some snack food for the school party. I was expecting a lot of junk food, so I thought a healthy tortilla roll would be just nice. 3 year olds are really picky eaters, and I was happy the rolls was gone in seconds! (Mushroom chicken ham, fiji apple slices and a slice of cheddar, of course a little piece of buttercup lettuce.) Oh yes, a little flag to cheer these little monkeys on their one month holiday (Imagine that - 1 month of NO SCHOOL). With the church carnival in less than 20 days, I've got tote bags to finish, felt pins to complete, more soft toys to sew, jewelery to make...yikes and a whole load of design work. Year 'ends' are always so hectic.

Oh yes, Welcome Joy to Kuala Lumpur! Can't wait to go Christmas shopping with you...until then back to my unending load of work work work!

Monday, November 06, 2006

For the first time in many, many years of gift-giving we're doing this year's annual gift exchange with a twist. Instead of giving each family member a present, a draw of names will determine 2 recipients for you to purchase the gifts for. You in turn will receive two gifts. Names will be coupled accordingly (listed below) and presents from participating children will, of course, be bought by their parents and at your discretion.

DRAW DATEDraws will be done by the 10th of Nov. We will be including our other family members overseas, please keep in mind shipping or posting costs and timeline for these destinations. Addresses will be provided. Those who request to be excluded, please let yoonie know by 9th of Nov (and with a valid excuse!). If your name is not in the list and you wish to be included - do let us know, pronto! Results of draw will be posted on yoonie-at-home@blogspot.com

BUDGET! BUDGET!Since you will be buying only 2 gifts this year, and to ensure some consistency, it is suggested that each gift be of RM30 and above.

CHRISTMAS DAY BONUS DRAWFor taking part in this gift exchange, a special bonus draw will be done to pick one LUCKY recipient to receive an additional special present from the organiser!

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Nope, it's not a Pep Smear report. It's a little test run by tickle.com to read your unconscious mind. And it says here...

Melanie Tan, your subconscious mind is driven most by Kindness

This means you have a deep desire to be kind and fair to others. You may even be preoccupied with finding kindness in the world around you, far more than you realize on a conscious level.

It is possible that the underlying reason you seek kindness in the world around you, is that you fear cruelty, the opposite of kindness. That could drive you to unconsciously project kindness wherever possible into your world. Regardless of its origin, your steadfast adherence to being kind to others is felt by people you are close to.

You are probably more susceptible than others to being overwhelmed by emotions — both yours and others'. It is possible that your unusually empathic nature is a result of your natural sensitivity to others' pain, and your desire to help them avoid it. For this reason, things might affect you more than they affect your friends and family. To protect yourself from too much emotional intensity, you might want to keep an eye out so you can recognize it when it starts. That will allow you to slow things down until you feel grounded again.

Overall, your strong orientation towards kindness gives you an optimistic nature, which translates into you seeing the best in the people around you. Because you're not one to be overly judgmental, others may seek out your company when they need a friend to talk to. People close to you likely know that you care deeply about the inner lives of others and can listen to what they have to say without imposing your views on them.

Though your unconscious mind is driven most strongly by Kindness, there is much more to who you are at your core.

Friday, November 03, 2006

My felt fantasy swap has come to an end, and I'm already 2 days late. So sorry Kris. As soon as this dries properly and packed (I wonder how, now?) I will send this immediately to you. Do write to me if you find my blog.

Just for the fun of it, needed a break from work, crafting and everything else. Why don't you?

1. Flip to page 18, paragraph 4 in the book closest to you right now, what does it say?

Le choix des materiux concernant les modeles presentes dans ce livere depend de la taille et de l usage du montage. (Hahahah! it's just a folding pattern for display and publicity book with nice diagrams I 've been referring to for my church calendar design for next year. And it's mult-lingual.)

2. If you stretch out your left arm - as far as possible, what are you touching?1 dozen Snoogems waiting to be stuffed and a 10 year oldpaper bag filled with DMC thread.

3. What's the last program you watched on tv?Pimp my ride.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is.5pm. Hey, I'm quite good at this.

5. Except the computer, what can you hear right now?Disney Channel. Some kid doing a karate move and Nigel knocking away at his toys.

6. When was the last time you were outside and what did you do?Last evening, celebrating my mom's 54th birthday. Got her flowers and we had a simple dinner at home. Totally lost her voice for 2 days (kinda unusual, it was pretty quiet.) so decided to eat home.

7. What are you wearing?Green T-shirt and shorts. WHat else.

8. Did you dream last night? If you did, what about?It was exam day, and no matter how I try, I couldn't finish my paper on time.

9. When was the last time you laughed?This morning. My son refused to wake up for school. Stan had to tickle him, but that didn;t work, so he used a clothes peg and placed it right at his toes! Nigel woke up laughing.

10. What's on the walls, in the room you're in right now?Nigel's Student Of The Year certificate framed in yellow. I'm so proud of him!

11. Have you seen anything strange lately?My bald neighbour, dressed in white and a striking pink vest. Geez, some people. And Nigel had to say, "Why you so funny one?!". I turned away and laughed.

12. What do you think about this meme?Really a nice break. Could do with some pictorials?

13. What's the last film you saw?Gubra. A local production that really was funny. Liked the part when Orked was sleeping on the couch heartbroken and the TV was showing a Malay couple bathing outdoors! The lady was actually washing her husband's armpits with her hands. It was gross but really humourous.

14. If you became a multimillionaire, what would you do with the money?Build my dream home and create a scholarship foundation for orphans and a retirement home for the extreme poor here.

15. Tell us something about yourself that most people don't know.Nearly ran away from home one morning, but decided to turn back. That's when I met my husband for the first time. Yep. He's the reason I didn't leave for good.

16. If you could change ONE THING in this world, without regarding politics or bad guilt - what would it be?The education system in Malaysia. Can they just stick to one system.

17. Do you like dancing?No. Malaysians don't dance. They Joget.

18. George Bush?Oooh. Dangerous.

19. What do you want your children’s names to be, girl/boy?Nigel for a boy and Natalie for a girl.

20. Would you ever consider living abroad?Nope. Love Malaysia. The food is just too good to miss.

21. What do you want God to tell you, when you come to heaven?You made it. Thank heaven!

22. Who should do this meme?Everyone else who has a blog and anyone who needs a 5 minute break.